A little boy, a big surgery, and a community of care: Josiah’s story
Patient Story
When Karen Tan’s son Josiah was diagnosed with a heart murmur at 15 months old, Karen knew her child would have to be closely monitored for years.
At the time, the family was living in Toronto, close to the pediatric cardiac specialists Josiah visited frequently. But when the family moved to Waterloo Region shortly after, it added a complicated travel burden to their semi-regular appointments.
That was until 2024, when Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) opened a children’s cardiac clinic.
Josiah, now 6, came under the care of Dr. Jonathan Schweber, a pediatric cardiologist who holds bi-monthly clinic hours at the WRHN @ Midtown clinic.
This summer, the program added a second pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Joshua Penslar, doubling clinic hours so more kids like Josiah can get the care they need, close to home.
Expanding access for kids and families
The clinic saw nearly 500 kids for non-urgent cardiac care last year, including consults and diagnostic testing. It has helped keep children out of the emergency department at WRHN while alleviating wait times at other pediatric cardiac centres outside the region.
“We saw that there was a big need for this cardiology work in our community, and we quickly increased our clinic volumes,” says Sarah Young, clinical manager of pediatrics at WRHN.
Now we hear stories all the time from our patients about how grateful they are to get their pre-op and post-op care right here in KW and have that travel barrier removed.
For Josiah and his family, having the clinic close to home made a huge difference.
Josiah can go in for an afternoon appointment and miss a couple hours of school instead of a whole day travelling to and from the GTA. His parents don’t have to take a full day off work.
“Being a working mom and juggling appointments with long commute times, that’s really tough,” says Karen, who’s an occupational therapist at WRHN. “And it’s tough on kids to take them out of school and out of their routine.”
The nearby clinic became especially helpful over the last year after Josiah underwent surgery at SickKids to repair his heart. Most of his frequent follow-up care was done at WRHN.
Little boy, big heart
Josiah was born with atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD), where one of the walls between the heart chambers doesn’t form properly, creating a hole that makes the heart work harder.
With Karen’s medical background, she knew that Josiah would likely eventually need surgery.
Still, when Dr. Schweber told her last year that Josiah was ready for the major procedure to close the hole in his heart, the news felt overwhelming. Dr. Schweber presented Josiah’s case to SickKids, and he had the surgery last May – two months after his fifth birthday.
“Even though he was so young, he really seemed to understand that he needed to have this surgery because it would make him better,” Karen says. “But still, I think one of the hardest parts for me was watching them wheel him away to the operating room.
You never really fully prepare for the look your child gives you right before they have major surgery.
A thriving six-year-old
With the hole in his heart now closed, Josiah’s energy levels and growth have improved significantly.
“He’s smart, he loves playing cars, and he’s an early reader – he’s currently reading the Guiness Book of World Records,” Karen says with a smile. “And he’s shown good self-awareness. Through this whole process, he expressed his feelings to us.
He understood his symptoms and how the surgery helped him.
Today, the family remains grateful, not only to the team at SickKids who performed Josiah’s surgery, but the care he’s received at WRHN.
“Waterloo Region is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, and it’s increasingly important to have different pediatric services available when families need them most,” Karen says.
In June, Karen and Josiah went on a local radio show as part of WRHN Foundation’s RedDAY cardiac fundraiser. On air, Josiah shared a special message for his local cardiologist.
“Thank you, Dr. Schweber, for taking care of me,” he said with a smile.
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